It means that Gerry and Kate McCann are likely to be cleared as suspects in their daughter's disappearance, along with British expatriate Robert Murat."The police have failed to find those responsible," the respected Portuguese paper Jornal de Noticias daily said.
Clarence Mitchell, the couple's official spokesman, said the McCanns were still waiting for official confirmation of the move.
"We are aware of it because we have heard about it on the grapevine," he said. ‘The team haven't heard officially so we are not in a position to make any comment."
The McCanns' Portuguese lawyer, Carlos Pinto de Abreu, said the news would allow the couple to finally see what evidence, if any, police had that prompted the decision to make them suspects, or arguidos, in the case. He pledged to study the case files "from the first to the last page" to find out.
He said: "I want to be in a position to do what the McCanns always wanted, which is to assure themselves the investigation was properly conducted and continue to look for their daughter."
But a source close to the case said they would be disappointed with the material. "The police report barely outlines the conclusive and non-conclusive facts," he said. "What this means is that it is not conclusive nor does it point in any particular direction - kidnap, murder or the concealment of Madeleine's body."
He said that, unless new evidence emerges, the investigation team will now be disbanded.
"Police will continue to be attentive to any new information that arises once the case has been archived as happens with other missing children," he said. "But the Madeleine McCann case can only be reopened if an important piece of evidence comes to light."